Corner stiffening and leg holding construction for collapsible metallic twin tubs



Oct. 28,1952 w. c. WOLFORTH 2,615,593 CORNER STIFFENING AND LEG HOLDING CONSTRUCTION UBS FOR COLLAPSIBLE METALLIC TWIN T Filed April 1, 1949 3nnentor WILLIAM C. WOLFORTH F/G4 F/GS Patented Oct. 28, 1952 CORNER STIFFENING ANDLEG HOLDING CONSTRUCTION FOR COLLAPSIBLE ME- TALLIC TWIN TUBS William G. Wolforth, Flint, Mich., assignor to Durand Metal Products Corporation, Saginaw, Mich.,.a corporation of Michigan.

Application April 1, 1949, Serial No. 8'4,9.82 1

- 1:. This inventionrelates in generalto a construe:- ti'on 'for stiifening. the corner. of: a rectangular metal-lie container having cornerlegs and arolled rim, and for holding the upper end of one of said corner legs against said. container, said construction comprisinga stifiening device securable tosaidrolled rimata corner thereoi'and a suitably arranged flange on the upper end of each of said legs for interengagement with said stifiening device.

Persons acquainted with the manufacture and assemblyof metallic containers, such as: those supported upon legs and having a rolled rim along the upper edgesthereof, have recognized theneed'for a tu-rd'y, neat, inexpensive construction,-inclf1-1d ing a device secu-rable toi sai'drim at the-corners thereof, for imparting rigidity to 'sa-id'ri-m as well asto the container.

,7 In order to conserve space when shipping metal containers havinglegs, such as twin laundry tubs, the legs thereof are generally removed from. said tubsbefore theyare packed for shipment. However, primarily as a matter of economy, much of the rigidity in this typeof metal container is often derived fromhaving thelegs in their assembled positions with respect to the container. Therefore, shipment of the tfi'sm-antl'edcontainers,

.thecontainer prior to its assembly with its legs.

Furthermore, this flimsy and unsturdy condition of the container,; prior to assemblywith its legs, alsoefiects ahad' impression upon persons receiving the container.

The flimsi nessand unsturdiness in the struchire of such a container generally arise from the fact that the rolled rim cannot be economically fabricated to extend around the corners of the container. Thus, until such time as the legs can be assembled to thesaid container, itis both flimsy and unsightly.

Accordingly, a primary. object of this invention isv the provision of adevice for stiffening, the corner' of a rectangular, metallic container having a rolled rim, said device being, securable to said rim at the cornersthereof.

A. f.urther object of this invention is the provision oil'a stifiening device, as aforesaid, for imparting rigidity to. a rectangular, metallic container having a rolled rim comprised of a plu- 1 rality of individu-a1 elements extending between 4 Claims. (Cl. 220-73) A. further object. of thisinvention isthe provision ofia corner stiffening device, as aforesaid, for removably engaging and securely holding the upper end of a corner leg. I

A- further. object: of invention is the profvision of aacorner stifiemng device; as aforesaid,

which is amply sturdy in' structuraneat in appearance and inexpensive, both to. fabricate and install.-

other: objectsand purposes of" this invention will become apparent to; persons familiar with this type of equipment.uponreferringrto theaccompanying drawings: and upon reading the following specification;

In meeting those ohjectsandipurposes heretofore mentioned, as well as others incidental thereto and associated. therewith, I haveprqvided a substantially Leshaped channel member: whose flanges extend perpendicularly from the plane definedihysaid L. Thus, one. flange of: the'ch-annel' member ison theuinside of the: curve in said IL, which curve is advantageously arcuate', whereas the other flange. of" the channel member is on theoutsid'e of the saidicurve. When: the channel member is-a'ssembl'ed onthe corner or the rolled rim-ofa metal container the web 01- the; channel restson the top of the rim and the: flanges of the channel snuglyembrace -.the inner and: outer sides of the rim. An integr'all lip is provided on the'lower', free edge of the outer flange along theeu-rved" portion thereof, said lip extending: toward-theinner flangeforthe purpose of engagingthe upper, outwardly flanged end 'oi a corner leg. A- pair of gripping flanges integral with the free edge of the outer flange,- adj'ac'ent to the opf the metallic container; 40

For. the purpose of: convenience in description, the "terms inwardly and outwardly, as? used inthe description of both the corner. stiffening device and'the leg construction to which this inventi'on relates,,lshallj be understolo'dlto mean toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the rectangular container with which said. stiffening device and, leg. construction are used... Theterms. upper andlower"",'shall be understood torei'erto the. device when positioned in its. normal manner oiuse. v

For illustrations of aparticular, preferred. em-

bodiment. of theinvention, referen'ceis made. to

the-accompanying drawingsin which 1 Figure 1- is a perspective: view of a. rectangular metallic container provided: with a plurality of Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IVIV of Figure 2.

Figure is a sectional view taken along the line VV of Figure 2, showing a portion of the upper edge of the container and a corner stiffening device secured thereto in the inverted position.

Figure 6 is a broken view of the inside of a corner of the rectangular container and rolled rim thereof with a stifiening device secured thereto.

Construction As shown in Figure 1, the corner stiffening device I0 is designed, in this embodiment of the invention, for cooperation with and securement to the rolled rim I I of a rectangular, metallic container, such as the twin laundry tubs I2. The tubs I2 are provided with four substantially identical corner legs I3 having L-shaped cross-sections to facilitate engagement between each of said legs and a corner of said tubs. An outwardly extending support flange I4 is provided at the upper end of said leg for appropriate engagement by said stiffening device If] (Figures 2 and 5), as hereinafter described in detail. Appropriate bracing i5 is provided between the legs I3 beneath the tubs I2 for holding them against movement away from each other and away from the tubs.

The four stiffening devices It, shown at the four corners of the tubs It in this embodiment of the invention, are preferably identical. Therefore, since the legs I3 are also identical, a detailed description will be given of the structure and relationship between one corner stiffening device and the leg cooperating therewith, and such description will be understood to apply to the structure of and relationship between the other corner stifl'ening devices and their corresponding legs.

It will become apparent that my corner stiffening device IOis applicable to use with practically any type of rectangular, metallic container having a substantially cylindrical rolled rim regardless of whether said rim is integral with, or separably securable to, the upper edge of the container. However, in the particular embodiment of the invention herein described, it will be assumed that the rolled rim I I is separably secured to the upper free edge I5 of the twin tubs l2 and is fabricated substantially as disclosed in a copending application Serial No. 21,489, filed April 16, 1948, now Patent No. 2,539,141. Accordingly, the rolled rim II has a pair of adjacent rim elements I! and I8, having adjacent, spaced ends 2I and 22. The rim element I! is secured to the upper edge of the tub sidewall 23 whereas the rim element I 3 is secured to the upper edge of the tub end wall 24.

The corner stiffening device I0 (Figures 2, 4, 5 and 6) is comprised of an L-shaped channel member with a substantially semi-circular cross-section. The bend in said channel member 25, which is preferably arcuate and midway between the ends 29 and 31 of said channel memher, is preferably so arranged that one flange 27 is on the inside of the curve and the other flange 28 is on the outside of the curve. Thus, the inner and outer flanges 21 and 28 respectively, extend at 32a in Figure 4 from the arcuate web 26 perpendicularly to the plane defined by said L. straight end portions 29 and 3! are perpendicularly disposed to each other.

The radius of curvature of the web 25 in the channel member 25 is preferably such that said channel member will snugly embrace the adjacent ends 2| and 22 of the rim elements H and I8 when the stiffening device H] is operably placed upon a corner of the rolled rim I I. Since, in this embodiment of the invention, the cylindrical rolled rim II is substantially tangent to the tub sidewall 23 and end wall 25, the inner flange 2'! (Figure 6) of the stiffening device 19 extends below the rim I I and bears snugly against the said tub'sidewall and end wall.

A pair of rim gripping flanges 32 and 33 (Figures 2 and 3), which are preferably but not necessarily integral with the free lower edge 3 of the outer flange 28 at the ends 29 and 3i thereof,

extend therefrom toward the corresponding ends of the inner flange 2?. The said gripping-flanges 32 and 33 snugly embrace the ends 2I and 22 of the rim elements I! and I8, respectively, thereby securing the corner stiffening device II] to the rolled rim ,1! at the corner thereof.

An integral lip flange 35 is preferably integral with and extends inwardly from the free edge 34 of the outer flange 28 along the curved portion thereof intermediate the end portions 29 and 31. The inward and lengthwise extents of the lip flange 35 are primarily governed by the outward extent of the support flange M at the top of the corner leg I3. The distance between the ,lip flange 35 and the web 26 is governed by the diameter of the rolled rim I I and the thickness of the support flange I I, which bears against the rimrI when the leg I3, thereof, is vertically positioned along the corner of the tubs. The said support flange I4, which may be relieved at Maud 3.7 (Figure 2) to facilitate fabricatiom preferably extends perpendicularly outwardly (Figure 4 from the upper end of the corner leg I3 and is curved slightly upwardly to snugly embrace the lower side of the rolled rim II. Thus, the flange I4 is snugly receivable between the lip 35 andthe rim II, when the leg I3 is in operating position,

and the adjacent ends 2| and 22 of the rim elements I7 and I8 are supported upon the said flange I4, thereby supporting the tubs I2.

A sealing flange 38 (Figures 2 and?) may be provided on the free edge 39 of the-inner flange 21 along the curved portion thereof extending outwardly therefrom toward the outer flange 28 in order to fill the opening betweenthe said curved portion of the inner flange 2i and the adjacent portions of the sidewall 23 and end wall 2d.

Assembly The corner stiffening device It is advantageously fabricated with the gripping flanges 32 and 33 substantially parallel with the corresponding ends of the inner flange 2?, as shown The stiffening device I0 is urged downwardly over the adjacent ends 2I and 22 of the rim elements 57 and I8 until the Web 26 snugly engages said rim elements I! and I 8, and saidinner and outer flanges 2'5, and 28, respectively, embrace the opposite sides of said rim adjacent to the ends 25 and 22; The gripping flanges 32 and 33 are then urged snugly around the lower sides of the rim elements I? and I8 thereby securing the stiffening device It upon the rolled rim II.

When it becomes desirable to assemble-thec'or- The substantially ner legs l3 upon the tubs 12, the support flange 14 of a particular leg is inserted between the lip flange 35 and the lower surfaces of the adjacent ends 2| and 22 of the rim elements I! and I8 by positioning the leg l3 at an angle with respect to the appropriate corner of the laundry tubs. In such position the corner leg 13 is spaced from the bottom of the tubs l2 whereas the upper end of the leg I3 is bearing against the upper edge I 6 of the tub. When the support flange l4 slips over the top of the lip flange 35, the lower end of the corner leg I3 is urged toward the tubs until said leg snugly engages the corner of the tub and is in a substantially vertical position. When the legis in this position, the support flange I4 is held snugly and substantially immovably between the lip flange 35 and the lower sides of the adjacent ends of the rim elements I! and I8. The bracing I5 may then be secured to the legs 13 beneath the tubs 12, thereby preventing the legs from moving away from said tubs. Thus, it will be seen in Figures 4 and 5 that the support flange I4 bears upwardly against the rolled rim I l whereas it is prevented from moving downwardly away from said rolled rim by the lip flange 35 as long as the leg is held firmly against the tubs. Accordingly, by merely providing any suitable convenient means, such as the bracing 15, for preventing the spreading apart of the lower ends of the legs l3, said legs are held firmly against said tubs.

Although the above mentioned drawings and 1. In a device for stiffening a corner of a rectangular container having a leg embracing said corner with an outwardly extending support flange at the top thereof, said container having a tubular rim extending outwardly from said container and supported upon said support flange, the combination comprising: a curved channel having inner and outer downwardly extending flanges adapted for snugly embracing said rim; means for securing said channel on top of said rim at a corner of said container; and a lip on the lower edge of said outer flange intermediate the ends of said channel, said lip extending toward said inner flange under the support flange on said leg for holding said support flange against said rim.

2. In a device for stiffening a corner of a rectangular container having a leg embracin said corner with an outwardly extending support flange at the top thereof, said container having a tubular rim extending outwardly from said container and supported upon said support flange, the combination comprising: a curved channel having inner and outer downwardly extending I flanges snugly embracing said rim; a pair of spaced gripping flanges secured to the lower edge flange intermediate said gripping flanges, said lip extending toward said inner flanges under thesupport flange on said leg for holding said support flange against said rim.

3. In a device for stiffening a corner of a rectangular container having a leg extending vertically alon and embracing said corner, said leg rim elements; a pair of gripping flanges secured to the opposite ends of said outer edge and extending toward said inner .edge beneath and tightly against said rim; 8, leg flange secured to said outer edge, intermediate said gripping flanges, and extending therefrom toward said inner edge under said support flange for holding said support flange against said rim elements and the upper end of said leg against said container.

4. In a device for stiffening a corner of a rectangular container having a leg extending vertically along and embracing saidcorner, said leg having an outwardly extending support flange at the top thereof, and said container having a moldedrim extending outwardly from said container and comprised of cylindrical elements secured to the upper edge of said container and extending between the corners thereof, the adjacent ends of the rim elements being spaced from from each other and bearing upon said support flange, the combination comprising: an L- shaped member having a semi-,-circular cross-section with inner and outer downwardly extending edges, the opposite ends of said member overlapping and snuglyembracing the adjacent end portions of two of said rim elements; a pair of gripping flanges integral with the opposite ends of said outer edge, one flange extending toward said "inner edge beneath and tightly against each of said elements; a leg flange integral with the said outer edge midway between said gripping flanges, and extending therefrom toward said inner edge under the support flange on said leg for holding said support flange against said rim elements and the upper end of said leg against said con- The following references are of record in th filev of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,234,516 Wege July 24, 1917 1,398,686 Graf Nov. 29, 1921 1,694,487 Ringer Dec. 11, 1928' 1,712,864 Willson May 14, 1929 1,770,664 Woehler -1- July 15, 1930 1,773,278 J Reid ..1 Aug. 19, 1930 1,903,908 Arlt Apr. 18, 1933 2,187,263 Bullock Jan. 16, 1940 2,225,110 Hearn Dec. 17, 1940 2,539,141

Keating, Jr. 'J'an. 23, 1951 

